BINGHAMTON, N.Y. -- He's led the Broome County Sheriff's office since 1998 and hopes to do so for another four years.

Sheriff David Harder began his career at the Sheriff's Office in 1964.

This year, he faces a challenger in former Binghamton Mayor Matt Ryan.

The two squared off in a debate Tuesday at Binghamton Rotary.

Ryan was a senior public defender in Broome County for 15 years.

He criticized the sheriff on his handling of the jail, and what he's calling mass incarceration.

"You could just keep adding jail cells and jail cells. We go from 300,000 people to 2.3 million. It's costing a fortune and it's created what people refer to as the prison industrial complex," said Matt Ryan, (WFP) Broome County Sheriff's Office Candidate.

Harder on the other hand says those decisions aren't up to him.

"I don’t put them in the jail. It's the courts. It's up to the lawyers and the judges to decide who comes and goes in the jail. I pick them up and deliver them with a court order, and I take them back to the judge when he wants them," said David Harder, (R) Broome County Sheriff.

Ryan also says he would cut back on spending in the office.

"We don’t need frills, we don’t need a lot of fancy motorcycles and equipment we dont use. We need the basic necessities to do a good job and I believe we can save millions of dollars," said Ryan.

Harder plans to bring more of a focus to those battling addiction in the jail.

"We're always working on new ideas, the same as picking up prescription drugs so they don’t go into the wrong hands, picking up the sharps, all those type of things, picking up people who have a problem and want assistance and delivering them to a rehab center," said Harder.

As for what they agree on, both candidates say there needs to be more services for those suffering from mental illness.

After winning his election in 2005, Ryan served two terms as mayor of Binghamton.